Sonic and Tails: I Did it Because I Love You
by iammemyself
Summary: When Sonic meets a little fox that saves his life,  nothing will ever be the same again.


Sonic was on his way home, iPod nice and loud in his ears. The world was a mess and he didn't want to think anymore. He wasn't really there, wasn't paying attention, when all of a sudden he was lying in the middle of a crosswalk with his earbuds in his eyes. He sat up to see a little orange fuzzball having trouble standing up. "Hey man, watch where you're going!" said Sonic in annoyance. "You're gonna get hit by a car or somethin'."  
>"That's what almost happened to you!" said the fuzzball, pointing, and Sonic turned his head to see a rusty old truck roaring down the street.<br>"You pushed me out of the way and got hit yourself?" said Sonic.  
>"Yep," said the fuzzball. "I didn't think you heard me w'nj I toldja to look out, so I pushed ya instead. You okay?"<br>"Where're your parents, kid?" asked Sonic, thinking they had to be nearby; kids were bubble-wrapped these days.  
>"They died a long time ago," said the fuzzball. "I don't 'member them at all."<br>Sonic sighed and got up. "C'mon, " he said. "Where're we goin'?"  
>"My place. Can't have you hit by a car and then just leave ya in the street."<br>"Oh, it's happened before," said the fuzzball, and Sonic could see he was a little orange fox no more than six years old. "People don't pay attention anymore."  
>A rumble split the air and Sonic turned to see a black hedgehog astride a black motorcycle.<br>"Aw shit," said Sonic. "I forgot about that."  
>"You gotta be there, though," said the black hedgehog. "You know what'll happen if you don't show."<br>"'Kay, yeah, I know, thanks Shad," said Sonic, and the black hedgehog nodded and sped off. Sonic turned back to the kid.  
>"What's your name, kiddo?" he asked.<br>"Miles Prower," he said.  
>"Ugh," said Sonic. "I knew no one knew how to name their kids anymore, but that's just silly." He thought of his own real name and shuddered. No way did he want to be called that.<br>"Are we gonna be friends?" asked Miles.  
>"I doubt it," said Sonic. "What would all the guys say if they saw me dragging you around? I can't do stuff with them with a little kid in tow, I'd get arrested."<br>"Well, maybe later then," said Miles. "I haven't got any, and you seem really nice."  
>"You're a lousy judge of character," said Sonic. "I'm the biggest jerk in town."<br>"Sure you are," said Miles. "That's why you're not leaving me here in the street. Anyways, you're the only one I've met so far who doesn't mind my tails."  
>"Your what?"<br>"I've got two tails, silly," said Miles. "People think it's contagious, like I'm a walking virus or something." He giggled. Sonic stared at them.  
>"They're...both real?"<br>"Yep!" said Miles. "I was born with 'em. 'Parently that makes me a bad person, 'cause people usually edge 'way from me and give me funny looks."  
>"Well, at least I don't have to call you Miles," said Sonic.<br>"Why?" asked Miles.  
>"I'll just callya Tails instead," said Sonic.<br>"Cool! You don't mind 'em?"  
>"Nah," said Sonic. "I know a couple guys more messed up than that."<p>Sonic brought Tails to a garage, where he swung his long blue leg over a motorcycle and adjusted his leather jacket. "C'mon. Get on b'hind me."<br>Tails climbed on with remarkable agility. "I like your hair," said Tails.  
>"You like my..." Sonic said, running a hand over it. He gelled his hair back into three long spikes on the back of his head. "Uh...thanks, I guess."<br>"It's really cool," said Tails. "Are you one a those gang guys?"  
>"Yeah," said Sonic, starting the motorcycle and peeling off. "I thought so, " said Tails. "It sounded like you were listening to heavy metal."<br>"Huh," said Sonic. "Hey, my name's Sonic, by the way. Sonic the Hedgehog."  
>"I don't understand it!" said Tails. "Understand what?" asked Sonic.<br>"How can one person be so cool in so many ways? You even have a cool name! Wow am I lucky!"  
>Sonic laughed. It felt good to laugh; he hadn't done so in a long time. Maybe this kid could stick around after all. "You should see me run sometime. Then you'd really be impressed."<br>"I already am," said Tails. "But I'd still like to see ya."  
>"Oh, you'll see it all right," said Sonic. He drove up an alley and stopped. "Hey kid, don't say anything, no matter what. Got it?"<br>"Yep!" said Tails. "No talkin', gotcha!"  
>"Just 'cause you're Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't mean you gotta be late all the time," said a purple marmoset, walking up to them. "Hey, cool it, Mike. We all know nothing happens 'til he gets here," said a green echidna. "Hey, who's the kid?"<br>"My buddy's Tails. Yeah, he's a kid, shove it. He saved my life ten minutes ago. He's cool."  
>"He won't talk?" asked the echidna.<br>"Nah, no worries," said Sonic. He sat down and Tails sat down beside him. A black leopard grabbed some drinks from the back of a truck and passed them around. Sonic gave him a look when he went to pass one to Tails. The two rival gangs sat back and shot the breeze for a while, and Sonic was debating whether or not to have a cigarette when Mike stood up, clearly appropriately bolstered, and said, "You ready, hedgehog?"  
>Sonic sighed and got up, taking his drink with him, swallowing it and walking unconcernedly over to Mike. Sonic was unaffected by the drink, he wasn't sure why. He had been told it was something to do with his metabolism being so fast.<br>"Why are you such a jerk, Mikey?" asked Sonic. "Can we not just chill for once?"  
>"Go soak your head!" Mike spat. "I'm gonna wipe the floor with you!"<br>"Like you usually do, you mean?" Sonic said in a bored sort of voice. Mike went to punch Sonic when Sonic's hand moved shockingly fast, seeming to vanish and reappear, grabbing Mike's wrist. "We haven't started yet," he said in a low, dangerous voice. He threw his drink aside and the bottle shattered. "Go," said the leopard. Mike tried to punch Sonic again, but Sonic drop-kicked him and pinned him with one foot, hands in his jacket pockets. Sonic had size twelve feet, but no one dared tease him about it. They were all afraid of him. "Done already?" said Sonic, taking out a cigarette. "Wow, I'm beat. That was so damn epic I can't contain it. Wasn't that somethin', Knux?" Sonic asked a red echidna. Knuckles laughed. "Epic as ever, Sonic."  
>Sonic took his foot off Mike and walked toward Tails. "Hedgehog!" Mike shouted. "How's this for epic!"<br>All of a sudden Sonic was on his knees, a knife sticking out of his chest and blood was seeping between his fingers and everything was turning red and fuzzy.  
>"...it doesn't hurt," he said, but no one heard him. Everyone was yelling and no one knew what to do. Sonic blacked out for a second and felt panic when he realized he had done so. Tails appeared in front of him.<br>"...I'm sorry," mumbled Sonic. He tasted blood in his mouth.  
>"For what?" asked Tails. "You're homeless again," said Sonic, not sure he had actually said it, but Tails only smiled. "Don't be silly! It's gonna be okay."<br>"How?" Sonic tried to say, but couldn't. He was confused. How could that possibly all be his blood? Tails pulled the knife out and Sonic was shocked back into consciousness. He was hyper aware now, and he felt the strangest pulling sensation in his chest and when he looked down, Tails had his little orange hands there, his big blue eyes screwed firmly shut and his tongue poking out of his mouth. He sat back, a big smile on his face. "All done!" he said.  
>Sonic stared at him.<br>"Did you just...heal me?" asked Sonic.  
>"Uh-huh!" said Tails. "Did I do a good job?"<br>"Uh..." said Sonic, wondering how the hell he was supposed to know. He got up and looked at Mike, who was standing in front of his gang.  
>"You jerk," said Sonic. "You broke the only rule. The only one." He stalked over and his arm moved impossibly fast, smashing into Mike's head so fast his face bruised instantly. "Next time it'll be worse, " he said.<br>He grabbed the fox's arm and pulled him onto the motorcycle. After a while Sonic said, "You know I'm a complete stranger."  
>"No you're not," said Tails, his little orange curls blowing in his eyes, "You're a friend."<p>

Three days later Sonic threw his keys in corner and lay facedown on his bed. He'd been fired for being "too moody", he'd been suspended for handing in an essay on school shootings, he wasn't allowed on the track team because he was "too fast" (meaning they thought he was on drugs), he was out of cigarettes because he kept lending them to Knuckles, who never gave them back, and he couldn't run because he'd lost his shoes and he would destroy his feet if he tried to run without them. And where was Tails? Sonic had taken a strange liking to the little guy; apparently he was a special spirit fox called a kitsune, but he wasn't supposed to be able to heal others or have two tails yet. He was only supposed to be able to heal himself, which he apparently couldn't do. Whatever. He'd probably bored of Sonic and taken off. Like everyone else. His arm was wet and he swiped at it angrily. Great. Now he was crying. If that didn't end all. He sat up, frustrated. Why was everything so screwed up? All of a sudden he had the impression he was at the bottom of a well looking up and no one could hear him screaming. He couldn't see the sunlight and there was no room to run, and when the water started rising he knew what he had to do.

"SONIC!"  
>Tails's voice was coming from below the water; it was garbled.<br>"Oh no! What happened-" Tails cut himself off. "Oh Sonic, what have you done?"  
>"I'm tired," said Sonic. "I'm going to sleep." Everything felt slow, like he was made of soup.<br>"NO!" screamed Tails. "No no no! You can't! Just hang on!"  
>"I'm tired of that too," said Sonic. "Oh Sonic, why didn't you tell me?"<br>"Dunno," said Sonic. "Dunno anything anymore."

When he opened his eyes again Tails was lying on the floor, his nose dripping with blood. Sonic was sitting in a sticky pile of his own blood. He looked at his arms. The cuts were no longer life-threatening; they were shallow, superficial wounds, looking a few days old. Sonic realized what must have happened and mentally kicked himself. Duh. Of course Tails would save him.  
>Why had he killed himself, anyway?<br>He couldn't remember.  
>"Tails? Buddy? You okay?" asked Sonic, crouching beside him.<br>"...no," said Tails weakly. "...I'm not s'posed to do that. It's bad for me. But I...I di'nt want you t'die...so I...I did it anyways...are you mad?"  
>"No," said Sonic, grabbing his keys.<br>"'cause I like you...an' I don' want you t'be bad at me," said Tails.  
>"I'm gonna get you help, buddy," said Sonic, trying not to cry. "You're gonna be okay."<br>"I don' know..." said Tails. "...my head hurts an awful lot."  
>"...Tails?"<br>"Uh-huh?"  
>"...thank you," Sonic whispered.<br>Tails, despite his weakness, gave Sonic his usual happy grin. "You're welcome!" he said in a weak voice before going unconscious.  
>Sonic gritted his teeth. If Tails died...he didn't want to think about it. He tripped heading out the door on...his shoes. "Well, that's the highlight of the day," he said, stuffing his feet into them. In a flash of blue light he was gone, his feet moving so fast they hardly touched the ground.<p>

For the first time since he was small, Sonic prayed. He couldn't believe what an effect the little fox had made on him; life seemed like a long, empty road without him. If Tails died, it would be all Sonic's fault, and he would have to live with that. How could he bear it?  
>"Please, Miles," said Sonic, using his real name so anyone listening would know who it was he was talking about, "please don't die. I promise I'll clean up. I'll try harder in school. I'll stop drinking. I'll stop hanging out with gangs. That's no environment for a kid anyways. Please don't die."<br>But Tails only laid there, as if already did, made even smaller by the machines keeping him alive. Sonic's head hurt from trying not to cry. What was he supposed to do? He wished desperately that he hadn't tried to kill himself. And over what? A bunch of shit that didn't matter anyways? None of those people cared. Not like Tails did. He had finally found someone who cared, who truly cared, and he had thrown him away. Sonic clenched his hands together on the bed and put his face between his arms, pressing it against the bedsheets, trying to somehow lend life to Tails through his will.  
>"...S-sonic?" said Tails, barely audible.<br>Sonic's head shot up.  
>"What is it, buddy?" asked Sonic.<br>"D-don't w-worry...I'm g-gonna be al-alright," Tails stuttered.  
>"I'm happy to hear that," said Sonic, smiling, shaking out of relief. Tails smiled back.<br>"You're gonna come live with me, okay? You're gonna be my little brother, " said Sonic.  
>"S-sonic...d-don't feel y-you have t-to d-do anyth-thing for me...th-that's not wh-why I did it."<br>"I know...but I...I want to. But buddy...why did you do it?" Sonic asked. "Didn't you know it would kill you?"  
>"Uh-huh...but I did it 'cause I love you, S-sonic, an' an' I didn' want you t-to die."<br>Tails's face screwed up in pain and then he went unconscious again, but that was okay with Sonic because he started crying into the bedsheets uncontrollably. He didn't understand what he had done to deserve the...love...of this amazing kid, and he was afraid to try. He was afraid that if he did, he would find that there was no cause, and Tails would leave him and he would be alone again. Sonic decided right then and there that he would protect Tails, no matter what, and never force Tails into a situation like this again. The little kitsune had saved his life more times and in more ways than one, and Sonic was determined to make the most of his second chance. 


End file.
